


Ships in the Night

by saiditallbefore



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: 5 Times, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-11 06:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15309312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiditallbefore/pseuds/saiditallbefore
Summary: 5 Ways Leia and Jyn Didn’t Meet+1 Way They Might Have





	Ships in the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fleurlb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurlb/gifts).



****One** **

* * *

Leia slunk through the dark streets of the underlevels of Coruscant. She’d heard rumors that members of the Rebellion were meeting here, and she wanted to find out more. If her parents weren’t going to tell her what they were getting involved in, she was going to have to get involved on her own.

That had all sounded like a good idea from her comfortable rooms in the Senate building. But now that she was down here, Leia was starting to reconsider. She’d always heard that the underlevels were dangerous, but she’d never paid much attention. Now, she wished she’d brought backup of some sort.

She checked her datapad once again for the meeting location she’d intercepted. Only a few more blocks.

“You’re just asking to be robbed, you know.”

Leia spun around to look at the speaker: a young woman near her own age, dressed in dark colors and wearing a hood to obscure her face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leia said.

The other woman scoffed. “A Ganlihk ripper would be more subtle. Look, you’ve had your fun, now you can run home and tell all your little rich friends about how scary it was to slum it down here.”

Leia’s jaw dropped at this woman’s assumptions, but she quickly gathered herself. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m actually looking for someone.”

The other woman rolled her eyes. “Well you’re still going to get yourself mugged. Where are you trying to go?”

Leia eyed the other woman suspiciously for a moment. “I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s a few blocks east.”

“I’ll walk you there,” the woman said. “By the way, my name’s Jyn.”

“Leia.”

* * *

****Two** **

* * *

Jyn stood outside the base and watched, waiting for Saw’s fighters to finish whatever they were doing. Well, she had a pretty good idea what they were doing. She’d asked to be on that part of the mission, but Saw still wouldn’t let her— said she was still too young.

Not too young to keep watch, though.

Jyn sighed, but she kept her eyes peeled. She didn’t want to have to face Saw if she was the reason the mission failed.

When she saw the unfamiliar ship approaching, Jyn attempted to comm the others and warn them. But it was too late— the signal had been jammed. 

Jyn ducked into an alcove, hoping it would provide her some cover, and pulled her blaster out of its holster. 

Half a dozen troopers piled out of the ship, then stood at attention until a young woman stepped out. The woman couldn’t have been any older than Jyn, and she wasn’t particularly imposing, even with her black armor and cape that made her look like she was trying a bit too hard to be Vader. But there was something about her— maybe in the way she walked, maybe in the way the stormtroopers deferred to her, or maybe just innately _her—_ that made Jyn wary. 

The woman drew closer. Jyn touched a hand to her kyber crystal, then took her shot.

The woman drew a _lightsaber_. It was red, like Vader’s was supposed to be, and she used it to deflect every one of Jyn’s blaster bolts right back toward Jyn’s makeshift hiding place.

This happened a few more times: Jyn shooting at the woman, the woman effortlessly deflecting the shots back toward her and slowly, inexorably, walking forward.

Finally the woman reached Jyn. With a wave of her hand, Jyn’s blaster went flying. With another wave of her hand, Jyn was frozen, unable to move at all. 

The woman stared Jyn in the eyes, giving Jyn the impression that she was seeing all the way into Jyn’s mind.

Then she smiled, and brushed Jyn’s cheek with the back of her hand. “Very intriguing. I think I’d like to take her with us, and talk with her further.”

As the woman advanced inside, toward Saw’s fighters, the stormtroopers pulled Jyn back to the woman’s ship, to await her fate.

* * *

****Three** **

* * *

Leia paced her tiny cell on the Death Star. Alderaan was gone, and she was imprisoned on the weapon that had done it.

But so far, she had kept the Death Star plans out of Imperial hands. Vader and Tarkin had each had their turn at interrogating her, and neither had succeeded. She could only hope that Artoo would find General Kenobi.

Down the hall, there was the sound of a door opening. Leia ignored it; it was probably only the troopers changing shift. But the footsteps didn’t stop at the guard station she knew was there— they continued toward her.

It wasn’t Vader this time. It wasn’t Tarkin, either.

Leia supposed she could consider herself fortunate it was not the Emperor, but she thought she might have preferred knowing who she was dealing with.

“Princess Leia,” the woman said. “Or is it Senator Organa? I suppose it doesn’t matter; neither one is really applicable anymore.”

Leia squared her shoulders, attempting to look as regal as possible. “You have me at a disadvantage.”

The other woman granted her a small smirk. “Lieutenant Jyn Erso. You’ve been made my responsibility, so I'm afraid we will be getting to know one another rather well.”

“I don’t have the plans,” Leia said. “And I won’t be giving them to you.”

Lieutenant Erso smirked— Leia wondered if she was capable of a true smile.

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?"

* * *

****Four** **

* * *

Jyn paused outside the apartment she was renting. Not _her_ apartment— nothing was hers. She had to be ready to leave it all behind at a moment’s notice, if the Empire got too close.

On first glance, there was no evidence that anyone had approached the apartment, but something seemed wrong. And upon closer inspection, Jyn saw that the faded curtain she had covering the window had been moved, as though someone had stood there, twitching the curtain aside while they waited for the occupant to return home.

Or maybe there had just been a draft, and her mind was playing tricks on her. There was such a thing as too paranoid, after all.

Still, Jyn had one hand on her blaster as she unlocked the door and entered. She caught the movement of a shadow out of the corner of her eye, and pointed the blaster at it instinctively.

“Don’t shoot,” the shadow said, and moved into the light. The shadow proved to be a young woman, her hair in elaborate braids, holding her hands up. She carried a blaster, but it was holstered at her hip. “My name is Leia Organa. I understand you used to work with Saw Gerrera?" 

Jyn lowered her blaster, but didn’t put it away. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m with the Rebellion,” Leia said. “We could use more people like you.”

Jyn snorted, and holstered her blaster. “The Rebellion doesn’t need me. And I sure as hell don’t need the Rebellion.”

“Miss Erso— Jyn—” Leia began. “You already know what we’re fighting for. I don’t agree with all of Saw’s methods, but—”

“I’m done with that,” Jyn said. “All I want is to be left alone.”

“What about the rest of the galaxy?” Leia asked, stepping closer to Jyn. “What about the millions of sentients who only want the Empire to leave them alone? What about the families like yours, torn apart by—”

“ _Don’t_ ,” Jyn said, her voice tight with emotions she usually tried not to think about. “Don’t bring them into this.”

“I’m sorry,” Leia said quietly. “We need all the help we can get. Please, consider it.”

She slipped out of the apartment. As she closed the door behind her, Jyn realized she hadn’t even asked how Leia had managed to break in.

* * *

****Five** **

* * *

The stranger sitting inside Leia’s immaculately-clean Senate apartment looked entirely too grimy to be there, even though she would hardly have stood out on the street outside.

“What are you doing in here?” Leia asked, wishing she had her blaster. She would have to make due with Senate security.

“The Empire has found out about your father’s...activities,” the woman said. “You both need to get out of here.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leia bluffed. What if this was some kind of trap?

“I already swept the apartment for bugs and put up a communications blocker,” the woman said. “No one can hear what we say.” 

She continued, “I know you’re both part of the Rebellion.”

“Are you—” Leia began.

The woman snorted. “No. But if you want to get out of here alive, you need to pack your things, and we need to get your father. _I’m_ sure not going to stick around for the Empire to arrest all of us.” She added, almost as an afterthought, “Jyn Erso, by the way."

Leia gaped at Jyn for a moment, then turned on her heel toward her bedroom. “Alright.” She pulled her blaster out of its hiding place as she walked past and strapped it on. If she was going to trust some strange woman with her life, she was at least going to be armed.

* * *

****+One** **

* * *

Jyn woke up.

She hadn’t expected that. She had expected the sky on Scarif to be her last sight.

Instead, she opened her eyes and saw a stark white ceiling. All around her were the quiet hums and beeps of medical droids, and outside the room, she could hear footsteps and talking and yelling and cheering. She considered trying to get up and make a break for it— odds were good she was being held by the Empire, or someone just as unfriendly— but her body refused to cooperate, and she sank back into unconsciousness.

The next time Jyn woke up, a familiar face was standing at her bedside. They’d never met, of course. But she appeared in news broadcasts occasionally, when they talked about the Senate, and the Rebellion leaders had spoken fondly of her.

Princess Leia smiled and squeezed Jyn’s hand. “You’re awake!"

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on tumblr!](http://saiditallbefore.tumblr.com/post/177347235438/ships-in-the-night-saiditallbefore-star-wars)


End file.
